People of my generation will remember the Iznogud comics and their memorable phrase: "I want to be caliph instead of the caliph." Wikipedia describes it as a French humor comic, written by screenwriter René ...
People of my generation will remember the Iznogud comics and their memorable phrase: "I want to be caliph instead of the caliph."
Wikipedia describes it as a French humor comic, written by screenwriter René Goscinny and cartoonist Jean Tabary in 1962. The comic is set in the wonderful Baghdad of One Thousand and One Nights. Harun El Pussah, a good-natured character, much loved by the people, is the Caliph of Baghdad, and Iznogud is his vizier. The character's name reveals his character: it is a play on words with the English phrase "He's no good". Indeed, the objective of the envious and treacherous vizier is none other than "to be caliph instead of the caliph", for which, given Harun's foolish passivity, he dedicates himself to conspiring endlessly, with the help of his faithful Dilá Lará.
I remembered that part of childhood that is never forgotten, while reading the latest news of the history of the fall of the empire of corruption in Lanzarote. Magical island, where dreams come true, where people have worked to exhaustion in search of paradise. Land of vice and containment, of effort and reward, wealth and hunger, plagued by contradictions and impossible cohabitation. Limited in extension, rich in beauty and populated by generous, great, decent citizens, but also prolific in chieftains, lords of opulence, idle, sick with corruption. Vicious and shameless, land of unforgivable fools.
I want to be caliph instead of the caliph. I want everything, I want what I don't have. I don't need authorizations, permits, or licenses. There is no law above me. I decide, I do. Offer it to me. I want to be what I will never be, pay for what is priceless, end what surpasses me. Mine is the land you inhabit, the people you have become, mine is the power, mine is your dignity. Lanzarote is me, I am Lanzarote. Imbeciles, thank me for taking care of you, for the work that has sustained you, for having brought evolution, for sacrificing my life and my riches for the benefit of development. I want to be Caesar instead of Caesar.
Poor rich kid who always got what he asked for, but never what he wanted. Poor is the one who believes that the world remains the same, that nothing changes. Poor is the one who believes he owns something, with the right to something. Poor is the one who does not understand reality and settles into mediocrity. Small, lost, bewildered, imbeciles who believed to the letter in impunity and now raise their arms openly to avoid the collapse of the kingdom. Woe to the vizier who wants to be caliph instead of the caliph.
The people who do not sell their soul to the devil are the best heritage of this island. There is no volcano, no beach, no Geria that surpasses such wealth. Freedom, knowledge, dignity, independence and courage. Thanks to their work, this island was a pioneer, an example, an object of admiration. The destruction, the overexploitation, the corruption and the disrepute is the fruit of the excessive ambition of those who now clamor for amnesty. It is the mafia that needs to get out of this situation, even at the cost of the most despicable actions, they are the ones who want to be what they are not. They want to be Caesar instead of Caesar.
